Reviews

To Hunt Ducks

“In To Hunt Ducks, Matt Wemple puts his relaxed prose style to fine use as he effectively demonstrates one of waterfowling’s essential truths: duck hunting is about so much more than shooting ducks. When he’s not shooting (and honestly admitting an occasional miss), Wemple takes plenty of time to explore the incidentals that aren’t really incidental at all, from dogs, friends, game wardens, sunrises, Cajun culture, and habitat to welcome riffs on Montana’s enlightened stream access law. I enjoyed the book so much I wish I had written it myself.”

 -E. Donnall Thomas Jr.

Editor-at-Large Retriever Journal, contributing writer Gray’s Sporting Journal, Wildfowl Magazine, author of By Dawn’s Early Light and The Language of Wings.

“Reading Matt’s book To Hunt Ducks will bring you back to the real essence of duck hunting; which is the friends, dogs, sunrises and sunsets, and all the good things associated with duck hunting”

-Dale C. Spartas

Cover photographer Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, American Hunter, and Gun Dog, author of Rooster! A Tribute to Pheasant Hunting in North America, To the Point: A Tribute to Pointing Dogs, and Just Labs.

The Duck Camp

“As one would expect from a volume titled The Duck Camp, Matt Wemple’s collection of short stories includes a lot of duck hunting. Volumes with similar themes exist, and I’ve written a couple of them myself. What distinguishes Wemple’s work is his keen description of the distinctive southern hunting culture, with its emphasis on extended family, friends, camaraderie, and cooking. Set in the bayou country of Louisiana where he grew up, Wemple’s writing suggests an updated version of Nash Buckingham at his best.”

–E. Donnall Thomas Jr.

Editor-at-Large Retriever Journal, contributing writer Gray’s Sporting Journal, Wildfowl Magazine, author of By Dawn’s Early Light and The Language of Wings.

“For those who appreciate the memories we make and the people who shape us throughout a lifetime of hunting, author Matt Wemple explores how something as simple as a shack on a marsh can shape a young man’s relationship with family and the natural world.”

Jay Strangis

Editor, American Waterfowler Magazine

“Matt tells the tale of growing up among the hunters of one of Louisiana’s most storied waterfowling destinations. Like so many who are passionate hunters as adults, it was these trips to the Duck Camp that planted the seed, engraining the ways of the die-hard waterfowler and all the rights of passage that go along with carrying that title. From the traditional meals everyone looked forward to, to the characters that prepared the meals, to the regulars that shared the meals once tabled, Matt’s chronicles paint the picture of so many camps across south Louisiana. Success out in the blind may come and go, but the camaraderie of camp life and all facets thereof are always a staple, something even catastrophic storms couldn’t keep down.”

Darren Digby

Contributing Writer Louisiana Sportsman, 008 Magazine, and editor of The Hunting Camp forum at Northshorefishingreport.com.